KEONJHAR/BHAWANIPATNA: Six members of a wedding party were killed and nine others injured when a speeding ore-laden truck ploughed into a marriage procession in Keonjhar district in the wee hours of Wednesday.
Police said the mishap occurred at 2 am at Sathigharsahi when an iron-ore-laden truck mowed down the people in the procession on the NH 49 and NH 40 bypass junctions. The marriage was called off following the mishap.
Police and fire services personnel rushed to the spot, rescued the injured and shifted them to Keonjhar district headquarters hospital. Of the 10 injured, one succumbed during treatment. Five were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack after their condition deteriorated.
Tension ran high after the accident as irate locals blocked the road from 3 am to 10 am demanding adequate compensation and construction of an overbridge at the spot. The situation was brought under control after the local administration assured the National Highways Authority of India will be moved for the project. The truck driver absconded following the accident.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced an ex gratia of Rs 3 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased. He also directed free treatment for the injured. This was the second accident involving a wedding party in the state in the last three days.
In a separate incident in Kalahandi district, two persons died and nine were critically injured after a jackfruit-laden pickup van fell into a 40-foot gorge in Dhulughati under Jaipatna block. The van was on its way to Jaipatna from Nabarangpur when the driver lost control and the vehicle plunged into the gorge. Eleven persons were on board the ill-fated vehicle.